MOUNT PLEASANT, MI — Central Michigan’s brutal non-conference schedule has taken its toll on the Chippewas with losses both on the field and on the roster.

But as they head back into Mid-American Conference play Saturday, Oct. 5 against Miami (Ohio), CMU (1-4, 0-1) is hoping they finally have time to take a breath and lick their wounds.

“They're a team like us trying to get of the schneid,” Chippewas coach Dan Enos said. “We’re two desperate teams playing football this Saturday.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 1:04 p.m. and will be streamed online by ESPN3 with Jim Barbar and Rocky Boiman calling the game.

Enos and RedHawks coach Don Treadwell are good friends who coached together at Cincinnati and Michigan State.

"Tready is a great friend," Enos said. "He's more than a colleague, he's a great friend. He and Lola are outstanding friends of Jane and myself.

"When you play against a friend, it's not a ton of fun, but it's fun to play someone you respect."

This season has not been kind or fun either team through the first five weeks.

CMU began its season on the road in Ann Arbor for its season opener and saw its hopes go down the drain when starting quarterback Cody Kater broke his clavicle and star tailback Zurlon Tipton was lost for the season with a broken ankle.

Meanwhile, the RedHawks (0-4) look forward to just their second home game all season. Miami has struggled mightily this season with three losses by 32 points or more. The RedHawks have been held to 14 or fewer points in each of their games, including a 14-0 loss to Cincinnati.

Wins have been hard to come by for Miami, which has experienced just one winning season since 2005.

But that lends a little CMU a little hope heading into the game.

“The big thing is we still have all our goals ahead of us,” Enos said. “We’ve had a very challenging scheduled to say the least with our travel schedule and a lot of injuries. And we’ve had a lot of young guys in key positions.”

The figurehead for that youth movement is redshirt freshman quarterback Cooper Rush.

With the injury to Cody Kater and an ineffective Alex Niznak, CMU was forced to turn to the diaper dandy in Week 2. And while he’s been able to get playmaking wide receiver Titus Davis involved in the game, it’s also come at a price with seven interceptions compared to six touchdown passes.

“His improvement needs to come in taking care of the football,” Enos said. “He’s turned the ball over too much the last two weeks, but even Saturday (when he had three interceptions against North Carolina State) he wowed you with some of the throws he makes.

“He’s growing up. He’s learning from these experiences, and he has to. He has to continue to do the things he’s doing, but he can’t turn the ball over the way he has.”

After being shut down in the season opener, Davis has made an impact every week since.

His 26 receptions for 484 yards and four touchdowns lead the team, while his career average of 19.2 yards per catch is No. 2 in the nation. Davis is third in the MAC averaging 96.8 yards per game, while his 20 career touchdowns moved him into third in the CMU record book.

Linebacker Justin Cherocci leads the MAC with 55 tackles, and Avery Cunningham leads the conference in solo stops with 30.

Defensively, they’ll have to match up with fifth-year senior quarterback Austin Boucher of Miami who has thrown for 363 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions. Tight end Steve Marck is the RedHawks leading receiver with seven receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown, and quarterback Austin Gearing’s 140 yards rushing, a 3.9-yard per carry clip, are a team high.

Cory Butzin covers sports for MLive/Saginaw News. Email him at cbutzin1@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.